Bell Digest vol04p03.txt

Subject:  Zzabur's Last Spell,  Volume 4,  Number 3

First Distribution: February 23, 1990

This issue:
	Re: RQ digest 4#2			(Jeff Okamoto)
	Reusable Rune Magic			(Andrew Bell)

This may be a resend,  but I can't remember sending it out.

---

From: Jeff Okamoto 

Subject: Re: RQ digest 4#2

>Subject:  Walktapus Soup,  Volume 4,  Number 2
>
>From: kenm@ni700.natinst.com
>
>I find that the rules regarding spirit plane encounters for shamans are
>unclear.  For example, what happens to a shaman on the spirit plane who
>is reduced to zero magic points by a spirit?  Is his body possessed?

Yes, the body is possessed.

>Big deal, if he has his adventurer buddies around to protect it.

I wouldn't just say "Big Deal".  Unless the possessing spirit is willing
or unless you get another shaman or spirit to exorcise the possessing
spirit, the shaman is now an NPC.

>What if the creature is something like an elemental that cannot inhabit
>the material plane without appropriate quantities of its element, or
>some creature that cannot possess anything.

I'm not exactly sure.  Our house rules were that it left you alone,
and you were okay.  Thinking back, that was being VERY lenient.

>I played in a game once where if the shaman lost on the spirit plane,
>his soul was destroyed.  This encouraged fear of the spirit plane, but
>made things rather deadly.  The rules don't seem to support this 
>interpretation of things, but I tend to go with it anyway.

In my opinion this is excessive and I would never use this
interpretation in a game of mine.

>What if a shaman binds a ghost or magic spirit which has rune magic?
>Is this rune magic reusable?  How does the spirit regain it?

Most spirits don't have Rune magic, except for cult special spirits
that are HARD to find.  Assuming that the Rune spell was compatible
with your own cult affiliations (remember, some shamans are priests
as well!) it COULD be reusable.  I think an overwhelming majority
would be one-use.  As for the spirit, who knows?  Why not ask one?-)

>Can a severed limb be reattached with the spirit heal spell?  I find
>the rules and the quick reference sheet to be contradictory on this.

You can use Heal to heal the arm.  If the location's HP are raised to
zero (or above zero) before 10 melee rounds are up, it's reattached.

>When does a shaman get a power check from a spirit encounter?  What
>keeps a shaman from increasing his power by leaps and bounds this way?

Whenever it successfully beats an opponent whose POW (or MP) is such
that the shaman has LESS than an initial 95% chance of overcoming it.
For example, a POW 15 shaman would get a POW check fighting a POW 7
spirit (90%), but not against a POW 6 spirit (95%).

The check is the threat of possession.  Shamans tend to be loners, and
it would be no fun being possessed.  The threat is also spirits whose
POW/MP are higher than the shaman's.

>Do you guys enforce the requirement that one have 10 pts of divine
>magic for it to be reusable?  Does this apply to Priests, Acolytes,
>and Rune Lords?

Huh?  A reusable spell is a reusable spell.  Of course, there may
be requirements that you have to fulfill before you can get reusable
Rune magic (like being a priest).

---

From: bell@cs.unc.edu (Your Error-prone Editor)

Subject: Reusable Rune Magic

In Digest 4#2,  Ken McKinney writes:

>Do you guys enforce the requirement that one have 10 pts of divine
>magic for it to be reusable?  Does this apply to Priests, Acolytes,
>and Rune Lords?

As I understand the rules,  priests,  acolytes,  and rune lords all
have reusable rune magic by virtue of their status.  The 10 point
rule is a requirement for being a priest or acolyte,  while rune lords
do not have this limitation.

(The group I game with makes rune magic reusable for initiates as well,
but then we're weirdos.)

   -Andrew Bell

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